Editor – Porterville Recorder Job in Porterville 93258

I guess Glen Faison, the current editor is moving on. Can’t say as I blame him.

This job opening from Monster just now came across my desk

Editor – Porterville RecorderAbout the JobThe Porterville Recorder, a 9,500 daily newspaper serving the central California valley, is seeking an experienced Editor to lead our 10-person team in covering community news and issues.

As usual, anything that comes out of the Recorder is of questionable accuracy. No way this paper is 9500 circulation, I was told by a “well placed insider” this past January that the circulation had dropped far below that by then. No comment on if there is a “10 person team” or not, although I am sure that more than 10 people are still employed by the paper.

Our candidate must have experience in covering a variety of beats and be comfortable in the role of mentor to young reporters.

That much is true – I was interviewed recently by a reporter who left the Recorder for the local weekly Sierra Messenger while still in (or having recently completed) High School. The other two news reporters are interns just out of college. They are eager and working hard from what I can tell, but they are very rough around the edges, never thinking to get opposing quotes even when covering a local story that is controversial and getting national attention.

A high degree of community involvement and direct reader engagement is required.​ We have renewed our focus on community news and the people in the communities we serve.​ The successful candidate must be able to balance an active role in the community with aggressive approaches to news, sports and feature coverage.​ As the editorial page editor, our Editor will write editorials and seek out the local voices necessary to build a lively discussion across multiple platforms.

This feels about right to me.

The Editor’s job includes the continued transformation of our newsroom to “web first” publishing with deadlines that never stop coming.

This also feels accurate to me – recently, articles have been published online hours ahead of any print deadline. If you interview for this job, expect to be told that in 12 months or less, the print edition is not likely to be around anymore.

If this doesn’t energize you, then this isn’t the right job.​ The Porterville Recorder serves print and online readers in an three-county area of central California.

No, the Recorder serves Porterville and that is all. No one in Kern or Kings or Fresno County (the 3 surrounding local counties) gives a damn about this paper, as evidence I resent both the lack of coverage in those areas and the lack of advertisers from there.

Porterville is located just 45 minutes south of Bakersfield, CA,

Uh no. This is typical of information coming from this paper – never checked by a copy editor or fact-checked before release. If you go south from Bakersfield to get to Porterville, you will have to circumnavigate the globe to get here.

If you go North to get here, and you can do it in 45 minutes, you are hauling ass, as it is 70 miles distant.

Porterville is a stable market with good schools, located near recreational opportunities such as the Sequoia National Forrest.

No comment on the schools, but the local’s educational achievement in the aggregate is dreadful, see the City’s own Economic Development website at chooseporterville.com.

And while the Sequoia National Forest (and adjoining National Parks) are wonderful resources, “close” is a relative term. Yes, you can see the mountains from here, the foothills start in Porterville, but the mountain roads are very windy, and to get to an elevation of about 4000 feet takes about an hour, to go higher and deeper into he mountains can take easily 3 hours each way or more. Yes, people do it, but for some of the best sites, you can get to San Francisco or LA in the same time frame.

We are a destination location for visitors who like to hike, bike, and fish.

Written by someone obviously never here. Decent hikes are at least an hour away. A very bike-unfriendly city, you rarely see cyclists despite miles and miles of uncongested farm roads. That is partly because of nasty guard dogs at every farm, and partly because our air quality is among the worst in the nation.

Become a part of something greater.​ Freedom Communications is an Equal opportunity Employer.

Freedom Communications is also in Chapter 11, no guarantees they will hold onto this, among their smallest papers, for long.

We offer a very competitive compensation

Not from what I have heard from every employee, who has seen his or her compensation cut to the bone, e.g. the art department barely makes minimum wage while being severely understaffed. Interns as lead reporters, minimal sales people, dwindling circulation, this equates to “competitive compensation”?

and an outstanding benefits package with the opportunity for professional growth and development.​ Benefits include: Vacation, Sick Leave, Holiday Pay, an attractive 401k retirement savings program, medical, dental, and much more.

One Comment

Barry: “…although I am sure that more than 10 people are still employed by the paper.”
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From the job description: “As the editorial page editor, our Editor will write editorials and seek out the local voices necessary to build a lively discussion across multiple platforms.”

Barry: “This feels about right to me.”

And here’s my little addition: This feels about right to me if you ignore the fact that the vast majority of the time, the editorials used on the Editorial Page were commonly written by other editors from other Freedom newspapers. And aside from the “Question of the Week,” local voices can only be heard–or rather, READ–when left as comment for a story via the online edition.
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Barry: “If you go south from Bakersfield to get to Porterville, you will have to circumnavigate the globe to get here.” BUHAHAHAHA!!
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Barry: “If you apply, ask about the “furlough” plan also!” Again, I give a hearty BUHAHAHAHA!!
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The primary problems with this paper are its publisher and its management. Does anyone actually see the publisher outside of a golf game? Does the editor send any of the city reporters out to cover the City Council meetings on a regular basis? Are there any reporters experienced enough to actually cover a story rather than rewrite a news release from the PPD?

No.

This is because the publisher and management are as wet behind the ears as the high-school-aged editorial department interns. Leadership and management are like oil and water at the Recorder, and it’s terribly obvious. You’ve got the blind leading the blind, and when someone points out the wrench in the cogs, that person is told it is not their job to point out such things. One literally has to separate themself from taking pride in their work and instead present an error-laden product to their readers EVERY DAY. Does the Recorder believe its readers are ignorant? That their readers would prefer to remain uninformed and pacified about local news? As one scans through the Recorder, its content appears to paint such a picture. And this is incredibly sad, because that newspaper has had more than its fair share of incredibly talented. loyal, and otherwise exceptional employees; most of which have been fired, laid off, or jumped ship on their own accord–forseeing the inevitable demise of this newspaper.

No wonder the turnover rate at the Porterville Recorder is so high; much higher than other publications in the Central Valley.

…but I suppose the empty computer desks balance out to a substantial yearly raise for certain members of the management staff, and most definitely the publisher.